“As the leader, it all starts at the top. If you want a culture where people are kind to each other and people are understanding, you have to be that person."
Building a fashion brand takes far more than creativity. Behind every successful collection are years of persistence, risk-taking, relationship-building, and learning how to navigate an incredibly competitive industry.
For many founders, entrepreneurship begins with seeing a gap in the market and having the courage to trust your instincts before anyone else fully understands the vision. And in fashion especially, scaling a business requires balancing creativity with operations, sales, branding, and resilience.
Ramy Brook Sharp is the founder and CEO of Ramy Brook, a contemporary women's fashion brand known for its chic and versatile designs. Launched in 2010 from her apartment, the brand quickly gained recognition and is now available at over 400 retailers. Ramy has successfully scaled her business while maintaining a commitment to empowering women through stylish and affordable clothing. Tune in and hear all about Ramy’s experience with entrepreneurship, the challenges of working with department stores as a new designer, and her approach to creating a unique customer experience in her stores.
In this Entreprenista Podcast, Ramy Brook Sharp shares the behind-the-scenes reality of building Ramy Brook from the ground up, growing a recognizable fashion brand, and navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship while staying true to her vision.
You can listen to the podcast here on Spotify and Apple Podcast.
Here are a few moments from the podcast:
Ramy shares how she went from following a traditional career path to building the Ramy Brook fashion brand.
“I took my LSATs. I was, like, ready to apply to law school 'cause that's what I was told that's what I was supposed to do, and I really was like, ‘I'm not going to law school. I'm gonna move to New York.’ And I got into advertising, which enabled me even to use a little bit more of my creative side... it still had a lot to do with marketing, building a brand.”
She explains the exact moment she realized there was a gap in the fashion market she wanted to solve.
“I was loving all these higher-end designer tops, and they were beautiful... but they were really quite expensive. And one top I remember was over $1,000, and it was just plain black silk. So I came home and I said to my husband, I'm like, ‘I don't understand. Why is it so much? I am gonna learn how to make this, and do it in multiple colors, and do it at a price point which is much lower than the high-end designers.’ He's like, ‘Great. Go for it.’”
Ramy talks about the scrappy early days of building Ramy Brook out of her apartment in New York City.
“I did have a website. It was really, like, grassroots. You said you want the Harriet top in red, I would go on 39th Street, find the fabric, drive it to Brooklyn, have my sample maker make it, and ship it to you. So I wouldn't say I was the most efficient or profitable necessarily in the beginning, but everything was a great learning experience. I even hired a tutor to teach me QuickBooks. So I had to learn everything from scratch.”
She shares how landing Bergdorf Goodman became the turning point that helped scale the brand nationally.
“I had to find a way to get it out to people who weren't necessarily two degrees of separation from me. So going into the stores was really the best way to do that... sometime in late 2011, maybe early 2012, I got into Bergdorf's. That was my first big store, big break... when you tell people you're at Bergdorf's, they kind of are interested because if Bergdorf's is carrying me, then maybe it's something that they should carry as well.”
Ramy reflects on the leadership philosophy that helped her scale Ramy Brook while building a strong company culture.
“Being an Entreprenista to me is really just being able to do everything, understanding where you have your weaknesses, where you have your strengths, understanding that at the end of the day, as the leader, it all starts at the top. So if you want a culture where people are kind to each other and people are understanding, you have to be that person.”
You may also like:
- Suzy Haber Wakefield Helps Fashion Founders Turn Their Visions Into Realities Scaling Strategies to Elevate Your Business with Carlyn Bushman
- Lessons and Insights from Dr. Bre Hayward: Founder of Baby Hair™
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Connect with Ramy:
USE CODE Entreprenista15 for a discount at RamyBrook.com!
Valid now through 1/31/25. Only valid on full price items.
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Updated on: May 28, 2025
Guests
Ramy Brook Sharp
CEO of Ramy Brook
Hosts
Stephanie Cartin
Stephanie Cartin is a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcast host, community builder, and a champion for women founders. She created the Entreprenista League, a community for women founders, to provide resources and support necessary at all business stages. She’s also the Co-founder of Socialfly, one of the first social media marketing agencies, as well as Entreprenista Media and Pearl Influential Capital which was recently acquired by Cherub. Stephanie has shared her journey managing her health challenges with Multiple Sclerosis, Infertility, and a complicated pregnancy and is an advocate for women going through similar challenges. Her story and businesses have been featured on the Today Show, Bloomberg and Forbes. Consider Stephanie your biggest business cheerleader.
Courtney Spritzer
Courtney Spritzer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and community builder with a passion for creating brands and platforms that empower women to lead, grow, and thrive.
In 2012, she co-founded Socialfly, a leading social-first digital and influencer marketing agency. Over the course of a decade, she helped scale the business into an award-winning agency working with Fortune 500 brands and emerging startups, building a powerhouse team and culture along the way. In 2024, Socialfly was acquired.
In 2018, Courtney launched the Entreprenista Podcast to spotlight the stories of inspiring women founders. That passion evolved into Entreprenista Media in 2021, a media platform and community supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She now co-leads the continued expansion of The Entreprenista League, a membership-driven community and ecosystem for founders.
As an angel investor, Courtney supports female-led and mission-driven startups aligned with her vision for a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.
She is the co-author of Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business (2015), a strategic guide for leveraging social platforms to drive business success.
Her work and ventures have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The New York Times. She is committed to championing visionary founders and helping build the next generation of impactful, community-driven businesses.
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